The soothing rhythm of whirring pottery wheels has become a regular part of Sara Truman’s daily life.
The 43-year-old ceramic maker and instructor owns Studio T/M, located at 1854 NE 2nd St. by Tom Petty Park, and has worked to expand and serve a unique need for relaxation through ceramic making in the community.
Studio T/M is the only one-stop ceramics shop in Alachua County. The studio provides clay, tools, materials, studio memberships, pottery classes, themed events, kiln firings and repairs.
Truman said her relationships with ceramic studios in other cities have allowed her to seek advice and grow Studio T/M over the past eight years.
“For us, really having this meeting place, this place you come for community, this place you can come for education, I think that is the difference in what we provide that’s so different from other businesses in town,” she said.
In 2016, Truman began Studio T/M in a 900-square-foot personal studio while she taught ceramics part-time at Flagler University and Gainesville High School. Truman said the studio began as a “happy accident” after she wandered into GHS and found a job posting for a ceramics teacher.
The high school’s ceramics program began with a broken kiln, no clay and no pottery wheels. By the time Truman was done with it, the studio was left with a brand new kiln, ware carts, multiple pottery wheels and over 200 daily students.
Students could enroll in the ceramics class without prior art experience or prerequisite courses.
“I was like, ‘Just give me warm bodies that are willing to stay in the room,’” Truman said. “For them [students], by the end of the year to understand so much about this material, but also not realize how much learning they had in the middle of that, that was so powerful.”
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought massive change to the GHS ceramics class, which catered to 55 students, with half of them in person. Managing the pandemic chaos and a new baby, Truman decided it was time to open her own studio.
The following year, Truman hired one of her former high school students as an apprentice and began teaching out of Studio T/M. She spent the next two years expanding the staff and equipment before upgrading to a 5,000-square-foot facility in July 2023.
According to Truman, Studio T/M’s expansion highlights the community’s growing demand for ceramic making. What began as a modest space with four pottery wheels and three weekly classes has evolved into a vibrant studio boasting 21 pottery wheels, 18 classes a week, 11 employees and six trade students.
As an LGBTQ+ and family-owned studio, inclusivity lies at the heart of Studio T/M’s identity. Truman proudly said its community spans ages 2 to 100 and is committed to creating a safe space for creativity.
“I think my proudest moment is the diversity,” she said. “We would always like to continue to add a more diverse clientele and continue to expand on that so that more people feel like they’re welcome here.”
Studio T/M takes pride in making its offerings accessible through scholarship programs and regular giveaways for free classes, Truman said. These initiatives reflect the studio’s dedication to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their financial situation, has the opportunity to participate and discover a love for ceramics.
Meg Marvin, a 38-year-old Studio T/M instructor, said the opportunity to offer clay classes to different parts of the Gainesville community makes the job fun and rewarding.
“I’ll teach anyone,” Marvin said. “I will take the wheel out of the studio if I’m allowed to.”
After using a pottery wheel in middle school and creating an AP Ceramics course at her high school in Jacksonville, Marvin graduated from the UF ceramics program in 2008. Marvin said the creative problem-solving aspect of ceramics has kept her coming back over the years.
“I think there are a lot of really healing elements, and a lot of it also connects us to our bodies and our history,” she said. “As long as people have lived in a community, they’ve been working with clay, and I think it brings people together.”
Through the studio’s events like Sip n' Spin, Date Nights, and Family Stay n' Clay, members of the Gainesville community have uncovered a love for wheel spinning. The hands-on experience invites people of all ages to explore the creative and relaxing hobby.
Taryn King, a 31-year-old clinical research nurse and Studio T/M regular, attended Sip n' Spin, a bring-your-own-bottle pottery class, to hone her pottery-making skills. King said pottery can be both fun and challenging.
“I liked the escapism of it,” she said. “If you’re looking for something to just take your mind off life, I highly recommend, and you might surprise yourself.”
Contact Sabrina Castro at scastro@alligator.org. Follow her on X @sabs_wurld.
Sabrina Castro is a rising senior studying journalism at the University of Florida and a Summer 2024 reporter for The Avenue. In her free time you can find her scrolling TikTok or searching for hidden gems at local thrift stores.
